Bobbin hanger

ABSTRACT

A bobbin hanger construction for mounting on a creel bar in a suspended state is provided which includes upper means for mounting the upper end of the bobbin hanger to a creel for universal movement relative thereto, intermediate means connected at one end to the upper means for universal movement relative thereto, and lower means connected to the intermediate means in vertically reciprocating relationship therewith, with the lower means having locking means which will be in engagement with one end of a bobbin. The locking means including means which will be projected laterally outwardly or retracted inwardly for engagement or non-engagement with the shoulder portion of a bobbin, and a reciprocating actuating member movable in a vertical plane for actuating the projected or retracted means laterally outwardly or inwardly.

United States Patent Takata Apr. 15, 1975 BOBBIN HANGER t PrimaryExaminer-Leonard D. Christian 75 l e tor: ToshI asu Takata, On mnchi,.la an M n y p Attorney, Agent, or FtrmHall & Houghton [73] Assignees:NTN Toyo Bearing Company Ltd.;

Zenzaburo Tsukumo, both of Osaka, japan [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed; June26, 1973 A bobbin hanger construction for mounting on a creel bar in asuspended state is provided which includes [21] Appl' 373877 upper meansfor mounting the upper end of the bob- 1 bin hanger to a creel foruniversal movement relative [30] Foreign Application Priority D tthereto, intermediate means connected at one end to June 29. 1972 Japan47-65642 the upper mehhs for universal movement relative thereto, andlower means connected to the intermedi- 52 us. c1 242/1302; 242/1291 atemeans verhmlly reciprocating rehhhhship 51 Int. Cl. i. B65h 49/02; D03j5/08 therewith with the lower means having locking means [58] Field ofSearch 242/1291, 130.2 which will he in engagement with one end 0fbobbin- The locking means including means which will be pro- [56]References Cited jected laterally outwardly or retracted inwardly forengagement or non-engagement with the shoulder por- UNITED STATESPATENTS tion of a bobbin, and a reciprocating actuating memgetcrson bermovable in a vertical plane for actuating the prorunner. ected orretracted means laterally outwardly or In- 3,5lZ,73l 5/1970 Kitamura242N302 warm).

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 502,532 7/1952 Belgium 242 1302 7 Clam,Drawmg F'gures BOBBIN HANGER DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART As for thebobbin holder systems. there have heretofore been two types. one using askewer and the other using no skewer. or the so-called skewerlesssystem. Thus. the bobbin carrying skewer is point-supported by supportcups. or such cups directly carrying the bobbin are point supported.thereby reducing the frictional resistance to allow smooth rotation ofthe bobbin. These types. however. require much time and labor inassembly and maintenance. and. when used for a long time. they havecotton dust collected at the support areas and the resulting damage tothe pointed ends of the skewer produces resistances to the rotation ofthe skewer or bobbin support surfaces. so that the rotational resistanceof the bobbin varies.

In recent years, as a result of changes in the arrangement of the creelto keep pace with the trend to the making of large packages. in mostcases there are restrictions imposed by the operating conditions,driving the bottom support cup system into an unusable stage.

As a result, in recent years, in order to facilitate the design ofcreels and the manipulation of bobbins, to achieve modernization and tosecure high quality, bobbin hangers adapted to rotatably suspendbobbins. easy to handle and designed to make it easier to obtain smoothrotation have become to be frequently used in place of said supportsystems.

Thus, such bobbin hanger consists of upper and lower members, but thereare many problems about the engagement between these members and aboutthe individual members themselves, forming a bottleneck in obtaining ayarn of superior quality. Therefore, improvements in the individualmembers and the piling up of individual improvements will certainly havean extremely great effect on yarn quality and operation, playing a majorrole in this project.

In this connection, in order to facilitate the mounting and dismountingof the bobbin, this type of bobbin hanger has to be suspended at theupper end thereof so as to be rotatable and swingable in all directions.Further, bobbins are inserted or extracted from the lower ends of thebobbin hangers. During use, the bobbins were in a condition in whichthey were easily forced to deflect. In that case, if the bobbins shouldbe angularly attached or deflection should occur, it is desirable thatthey immediately swing back to their normal position. To this end. it ismost effective to use a universal joint at the upper portion of thehanger and self-aligning balls at the lower portion.

Further. the conventional type is provided with a thrust bearing usingbearing balls at one of the connec tions. However, the thrust bearing isexposed to ambient air incurring various inconveniences includingdeposition of cotton dust, formation of dew-drops and rust in theinternal construction, consequently detracting from the performance ofthe bearing. This has a serious effect on yarn quality and textileoperation. Further, upon pendulum movement, the bobbin hanger must beable to quickly return to the normal position through dampedoscillation. With the conventional type, however, this problem has notbeen satisfactorily solved. It has been found that the cause underliesthe fact that the upper member, which, in itself, should naturally be atwo-component body, has been constructed in a unitary body. This hasbeen the cause of ununiformity of roving tension. incorretncss of draftand uneveness of yarn.

Further. if the hanger can rotate too easily. it tends to turnexcessively as a result of its inertial rotation. Consequently. asdescribed above the tension on the roving being withdrawn becomesununiform and incorrect draft takes place, forming the cause ofuncvcness of yarn. In extreme cases, the roving breaks at the creelregion.

The above will now be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 1illustrating a conventional bobbin hanger. the entire bobbin hanger Bincluding a bobbin A is a unitary body. with the upper end articulatedto the underside ofa hanger rail D by means of a universal joint C. As aresult. when the hanger is deflected. the entire structure is oscillatedin a single pendulum. If the overall length of the hanger is 1, then theperiod T is as follows.

'1 211' l/ g Thus. the period T ofa pendulum is proportional to the rootof the hanger length I. That the period T is great means that theresumption of normal position through damped oscillation is late, whichaccounts for the fact that the oscillation of the conventional hangercannot be easily brought to a stop. Further, with the conventionalbobbin hanger. the system for attaching the hanger to the hanger rail isby attaching a bearing portion directly to the hanger rail, as describedabove. and the pivot portion is not necessarily set vertically and isliable to be subjected directly to violent external forces during bobbinoperation.

Further, since the bearing portion is not in a sealed condition, it isdirectly influenced by changes in the humidity in the room. Inconnection with the hanger rail, position and air conditioning.dew-drops are formed on the bearing portion when the dew point isreached. Further, due to this unsealed condition, air currents arecreated within the bobbin hanger by a pumping or similar actionparticularly at the time of mounting and dismounting of bobbins.

Coupled with said formation of dew-drops, the resulting air currentscause the deposition of cotton fly and dust and the formation of rust onthe races and ball surfaces of the bearing. It is not rare that in lessthan one year from the use of a fresh unit, the turning torque of thehanger is remarkably increased and the amount of scatter of torque overthe individual units is extremely increased, thus bringing about aserious decrease in quality and a frequent trouble in operation, thisbeing the present situation. These effects immediately form the cause ofdetraction from yarn quality and frequent occurrence of yarn breaks.

Further, the conventional bobbin hanger is designed so that when abobbin is inserted over the movable portion, a pair of locking membersfolded in the movable member are transversely unfolded to project inopposite directions, whereby said locking members are engaged with theshoulder portion of the bobbin, and that when the bobbin is detached,the locking members are automatically folded into the movable member inconnection with the operation of detaching the bobbin from the movableportion.

However, since this type of conventional bobbin hanger is designed tosuspend a bobbin by two locking members, the support of the bobbin iseffected at two points, so that the support of the bobbin becomesunstable and the center line of the hanger is not aligned with thecenter line of the bobbin. with the result that at the time of andduring the withdrawal of the roving, the rotation of the bobbin becomesunsmooth or the bobbin executes an eccentric rotation or precessionalmovement. causing tension irregularity to the roving and damage to theinner surface of the suspension system of the hanger; all these lead touneveness of yarn and breakage of roving.

SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTlON.

The present invention provides a bobbin hanger for textile machinery,comprising an upper member, a lower member, a bar-like intermediatemember for interconnecting said upper and lower members. said uppermember being swingably suspended from a hanger rail, the upper memberand the upper end of the bar-like intermediate member being rotatablyand swingably interconnected, the lower member and the lower end of thebar-like intermediate member being rotatably and swingablyinterconnected, three locking members installed near the lower end ofamovable portion installed in the said lower member and at placestrisecting the circumference, said locking members being adapted toengage the shoulder portion of a bobbin at desired times, and acylindrical member disposed between said upper and lower members servingto close the space therebetween and adapted to impart a requiredrotational resistance to the lower member.

FEATURES OF THE INVENTION.

According to the present invention, since upper and lower members E andF constituting the bobbin hanger B are interconnected by a bar-likeintermediate member G and are adapted to be bendable at the respectiveconnections. even if the bobbin hanger is swung by external force,principally the upper member E along executes an interferenceoscillation in the manner of a pendulum as shown in FIG. 2, while thelower member F only slightly deflects to and fro in a nearly verticalcondition. Further, since the upper member E has a short length I, theperiod of the oscillation is short, and the weight ofa bobbin A andlocking member H rollably installed in the movable portion of the lowermember interfere with the upper member to effect extremely quick dampingwhereby the bobbin hanger B including the bobbin quickly returns to itsnormal position in a vertical line. Therefore, yarn breakage andincorrect draft can be excluded. Further, accordingly to the invention,since the lower member F is suspended from the upper member E throughthe intermediate member G in such a manner that it is somewhatrestrained at the central region from rotation but is freely swingable,there is no possibility that the lower member F having the bobbin Amounted thereon is excessively rotated by the withdrawal of the rovingduring operation. Thus the withdrawing torque becomes a predeterminedone and is maintained in the best condition, while the roving beingwithdrawn is always at an approximately constant tension.

Moreover, such is uniformly effected at each unit. Further, even if thebobbin hanger is swung by external forces, the oscillation of the lowermember is minimum.

Further, according to the invention, since an annular member 1 adaptedto close the space between the upper and lower members E and F isprovided at the joint portion between the upper and lower members, thereis no possibility of cotton dust entering the joint portion to adherethereto and entry of air is also prevented. As a result, it is littleinfluenced by temperature differences and there is no possibilty ofdew-drops forming on the bearing portions. Therefore, it is possible toexclude the formation of rust, the adhesion of cotton fly and dirt anddust or the occurrence of other phenomena at said portion which can formthe main cause of troubles.

Further, according to the invention, since the bobbin is supported atthree points by the locking members H, the condition in which it isattached to the lower member F and particularly to the movable member Jis extremely stabilized. Moreover, the alignment between the centerlines of the hanger and bobbin assures that the bobbin rotates alwayssmoothly without involving eccentric rotation or other incorrectrotation during withdrawal of roving, thereby completely excludingunevenness of yarn and breakage of roving.

Particularly in the case of using rotatable spherical members, it hasbeen experimentally ascertained that the following markedcharacteristics are obtained.

If there occurs a condition in which the forces acting on the threespherical locking members in the bobbin suspending portion of the lowermember are unbalanced, then the spherical bodies are caused to berotated around their own axes and immediately displaced until theyresume the perfect balanced condition, whereupon they stop quickly.

The resistance to such rotation exerted during this process is so lowthat the self-alignment is sensitive and takes place accurately andquickly. Further, since steel balls for bearing use can be utilized asthe spherical members, the durability is very high, to say nothing ofthe accuracy, of operation, and they are very strong, free fromdeformation and damage. Thus, there is obtained an article of high orderwhich cannot be compared to the conventional article in respect ofaccuracy, maintenance, stability of performance and deity, assuringsmooth rotation, and will exert marked characteristics in someapplications.

Further, the invention, in a constructional aspect thereof, uses asimple combination wherein the lower peripheral surface of the movableportion G of the lower member H is provided with window portions andlocking members are simply placedin the interior; among other things, itmakes full use of a self-aligning property through an sophisticatedapplication of the law of gravitation of the earth. As a result of thisarrangement, the concept of the present invention can be easily appliedto the conventional bobbin hangers of this type, and bobbin hangers willbe obtained which are simple in construction, to which it is easy toimpart the required accuracy, over which the amount of seatter inmanufacture can be reduced to the minimum, which are suitable for massproduction and which are easy to handle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showingthe oscillating condition of the conventional bobbin hanger;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the oscillating condition of thebobbin hanger of the present invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are front views. in longitudinal section, of a bobbinhanger according to the invention. FIG. 3 showing a condition in whichthe bobbin has been taken off. FIG. 4 showing a condition in which abobbin has been mounted:

FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory views showing the function of a clutchmechanism corresponding to the conditions of FIGS. 3 and 4,respectively. the views being in a developed form:

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views partially in section which show modifications ofthe annular member for sealing a bearing portion; and FIGS. 9 and 10 areviews partially in section which show modifications of the bobbinlocking member, FIG. 9 showing a condition in which the bobbin has beentaken off.

FIG. 10 showing a condition in which a .bobbin has been mounted.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a preferred embodiment of abobbin hanger shown in FIG. 3, a hanger rail D is provided with openingsor rail slots 1 for suspending bobbin hangers B at predeterminedintervals of space.

The numeral 2 designates a bolt having a bulge 3 integral therewithhaving a spherical surface, said bolt being inserted at the upper endthereof into an opening 1 in the hanger rail D and fixed in position bynuts 4 and 5.

The bobbin hanger B comprises an upper member E suspended by the lowerend of the bolt 2, an intermediate member G suspended by the lower endof said upper member E, and a lower member F suspended by the lower endof said intermediate member G, said members E, F and G being rotatablyand swingably suspended. The upper member E consists of a cylindricalmember I0 of two-split construction having a space portion 7 graspingthe bulge 3 formed on the lower end of the bolt and a space portion 9grasping a bulge 8 formed on the upper end of the intermediate member G,and a cylindrical holder member 11 for holding said cylindrical member10 of two-split construction in its face-to-face assembled condition,said holder member ll having a cover portion 12 integral therewith.Opening 13 and 14in the cylindrical member 10 which open into the spaceportions 7 and 9, respectively, are larger in diameter than thecorresponding shaft portions to be inserted therein. The peripheraledges of the openings l3 and 14 into the space portions 7 and 9terminate in spherical surfaces 15 and 16, respectively, In thesuspended condition, the spherical surfaces 15 and 16 and the sphericalsurfaces of the bulges 3 and 8 abut against each other to allow smoothrotation and swing therebetween.

In this connection, the upper member E may be rotatably and swingablysuspended by fixedly securing the lower end of the bolt to the topsurface of the upper member, forming a spherical bulge on the upper endof the bolt and fitting said spherical bulge in an opening formed in theguide rail D. The intermediate member G is in the form of a bar-likemember having bulges 8 and 17 at the opposite ends thereof, the upperbulge 8 being fitted in the lower space portion (9) of the upper memberE. the lower bulge 17 being fitted in the space portion 18 of the lowermember F through hearing means 19. Thus. the lower member F is suspendedby the bearing means 19 so that it can he smoothly rotated. It ispreferable that such portion be ofpivot bearing construction (not shown)without providing steel balls between the upper end bulge 8 and theperiphery of the opening 14 in the lower space portion 9. Thus. this isconcerned with braking and the formation of dew-drops and rust.

The lower member F consists of a base portion 20, suspended by saidintermediate member G. a movable portion J suspended by said baseportion 20 so as to be vertically movable with respect to said baseportion, three locking members H received in the lower portion of saidmovable portion j in such a manner that they can be projected andretracted, and a spindle member 21 adapted to cause said three lockingmembers H to be projected and retracted in unison in connection with theupward and downward movement of the movable portion 1.

The base portion 20 consists of a top plate portion 22 having a spaceportion 18 in the upper central region thereof, and a cylindrical guidemember 24 having a conical opening 23 in the lower region thereof, theupper end of said guide member being fixed to the outer periphery of thetop plate portion. The bearing means 19 to be installed in the spaceportion 18 of the top plate portion 22 is composed of a plurality ofsteel balls 25 and a bowl-like member 26 providing a surface on whichsaid steel balls run. The numeral 27 designates an opening for receivingthe shaft portion of the intermediate member G. said opening beinglarger in diameter than said shaft portion. The bearing means 19 isdisposed on the bulge 17 of the intermediate member G.

The movable portion J consists of a bobbin insert portion 34 which, inthe upper region thereof, has an open portion 29 fitted in the guidemember 24 and having a conical surface 28 conforming to the conicalopening 23 in the guide member 24, which, in the intermediate peripheralregion thereof, has a step portion 32 against which the upper endshoulder 31 ofa bobbin will abut, and which has window portions 33extending downwardly from said step portion 32 and located at placestrisecting the peripheral surface near the lower end, the arrangementbeing such that the locking members H can be projected and retractedthrough said window portions 33. The numeral 35 designates a springcompressed and disposed on the top plate portion 22 and in the interiorof the movable member .I, the elastic force of said spring 35 serving tourge the conical surface 28 of the movable portion J into elasticabutment against the conical surface 23 of the guide member 24. Thelocking member H may be in the form of a spherical member as shown inFIGS. 3 and 4 or in the form of an arm member 38 having a curved surfaceat the front end thereof as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. Further, it ispreferable that a spherical member be rotatably mounted on the armmember 38 at the front end thereof. I

The following description will be made with reference to the case wherespherical members 37 are installed in the window portions 33, as shownin FIGS. 3 and 4.

The spindle member 21 is inserted in the movable portion J and has atthe front end region thereof a large diameter portion adapted to projectthe spherical members 37 through the window portions 33 and a smalldiameter portion 40 adapted to retract the spherical members 37 into thewindow portions 33. Thus. the condition shown in FIG. 4 is such that thespherical members 37 are partly projected through the peripheral surfaceof the bobbin insert portion 34 to lock the inner shoulder 42 of theaxial bore 41 of the bobbin 30. The diameter of the window portions 33is such that the spherical members 37 are prevented from falling offtherethrough. Further, the configuration of the window portions is suchthat when the small diameter portion 40 is positioned opposed to thewindow portions 33, the spherical members 37 in the window portions 33roll by their own weights. The numeral 43 designates a spring whichkeeps the spindle member 21 in an upwardly urged condition.

The small and larger diameter portions 39 and 40 of the spindle member21 alternately face the window portion 33 for each upward and downwardmovement of the movable portion J. A clutch mechanism 44 for upwardlyand downwardly moving the spindle member 21 in connection with theupward and downward of the movable member J as described above is asfollows. The clutch member 44 is composed of a shaft portion 45 fixed tothe top plate portion 22, a cylindrical portion 46 fixed inside themovable portion J and a spindle member 21. On the peripheral surface ofthe upper end of the spindle member 21 and at places quadrisecting thecircumference, there are formed saw-tooth-like teeth 48 each having aninclined surface 47, said surfaces 47 being inclined in the samedirection. Of four valleys defined by said four teeth, two opposed onesare formed with grooves 49 which extend vertically downward.

The shaft portion 45 opposed to the spindle member 21 is provided withteeth 51 on the peripheral surface of the'lower end thereof and atplaces bisecting the circumference. each of said teeth having aninclined surface 50 on the lateral surface thereof. Such inclinedsurface 50 is provided with an vertically upwardly extending groove 52in the intermediate region thereof. It is so arranged that when saidgrooves 49 and 52 are vertically aligned with each other, the inclinedsurfaces 47 and 50 of the opposed teeth 48 and 51 overlap each otherwith some clearance therebetween adjacent the tops thereof.

The cylindrical portion 46 is provided with vertically extending ridges53 at two places on the inner surface, said ridges being adapted toengage the grooves 49 in the inner surface of the spindle member 21 andthe grooves 52 in the inner surface of the shaft portion 45. Engagementbetween the grooves 52 and the ridges 53 enables the cylindrical portionto move axially with respect to the shaft portion 45, while engagementbetween the grooves 49 and the ridges 53 enables the spindle member 21to move with respect to the cylindrical portion 46. In addition, theridges 53 are permanently engaged with the grooves 52.

The condition shown in FIG. 4 is such that the ridges 53 on thecylindrical portion 46 abut against the valleys of the spindle member 21as shown in FIG. 6, while the condition shown in FIG. 3 is such that theridges 46 on the cylindrical portion 46 are aligned with and fitted inthe grooves 49 in the spindle member 21 as shown in FIG. 5.

In the condition shown in FIG. 4, if the bobbin is upwardly thrusted sothat its upper end shoulder 31 upwardly thrusts the step portion 32 ofthe movable portion J, then the movable portion J is upwardly movedwithin the guide member 24 while compressing the spring 35. Along withthis movement of the movable portion J, the cylindrical portion 46 isalso moved along the shaft portion 45. When the cylindrical portion 46is upwardly moved, the spindle member 21 elastically urged against thelower ends of the ridges 53 on the cylindrical portion 46 by the spring43 is also moved. That is, the relative position between the windowportions 33 and the spindle 21 will not change until the teeth 48 on thefront end surface of the spindle member 21 abut against the teeth 51 onthe lower end surface of the shaft portion 45. When the inclinedsurfaces 47 and 50 of the teeth 48 and 51 abut against each other, theupward movement of the spindle member 21 is stopped by the shaft portion21, and when the ridges 53 are disengaged from the valleys, the inclinedsurfaces 47 of the teeth 48 of the spindle member 21 are rotated alongthe inclined surface 50 of the teeth 51 of the shaft portion 45 untilthe grooves 49 in the spindle member 21 and the grooves 52 in the shaftmember 45 are vertically aligned with each other. In this condition, ifthe movable portion J is relieved of the upward thrust, the elasticforce stored in the spring pushes down the movable portion J so that thecylindrical portion is lowered along with the movable portion J and theridges 53 are slid into the grooves 49, while the position of thespindle member 21 is maintained unchanged regardless of the downwardmovement of the movable portion J and cylindrical portion 46. That is,the net result is that the spindle member 21 has been moved upwardlyrelative to the movable portion J and that the small diameter portion 40has been positioned opposed portion 39 causes the spherical member 37 tobe projected in unison through the window portions 33 to lock the bobbinin position. During the downward movement of the movable portion J, thecentering between the guide portion 24 and movable portion J isautomatically effected by virtue of their conical surfaces.

Installed between the upper and lower members E and F to surround theintermediate member G is an annular member I which serves to seal theconnection, particularly the bearing means 19. As shown in FIGS. 3 and4, the annular member I is in the form of a coiled spring 54 aroundwhich a soft material 55 such as a film sheet is stretched. The upperand lower ends of the annular member-slidably abut against the opposedsurfaces of the upper and lower members E and F. By setting the elasticforce of the spring of the annular member I at a suitable value, theexcessive rotation of the lower member F can be suppressed.

Such annular member may be in the form of a simple cylindrical member 50as shown in FIG. 7. In such arrangement. the cylindrical member 56 isplaced on the top surface of the lower member F. and the upper edge ofthe cylindrical member 56 is provided with lugs 57 each adapted to beengaged in a recess 58 cut in the outer periphery of the upper member E.Thus. the C lindrical member 56 can be upwardly and downwardly movedalong the outer periphery of the upper member E regardless of therotation of the upper and lower members E and F. By suitably selectingthe mass of the cylindrical member 56. it is possible to suppress theex- Cessive rotation of the lower member F by the weight of saidcylindrical member.

FIG. 8 shows another modification of the annular member I. wherein theupper outer periphery of the lower member F is provided with an annularstep portion 59 on which an annular member 62 having a flange 61 aroundthe lower edge thereof is placed with a spring 60 interposedtherebetween to elastically urge the upper edge of the annular member 62against the lower surface of the upper member E. achieving the samefunction and effect as the annular member described above. In FIGS. 9and 10, the arm members 38 are mounted in grooves 64 located at placestrisecting the peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 63 atthe lower end of the spindle member 21, the base portions of said armmembers being locked by a ring 65. Fixedly secured to the lower end ofthe bobbin insert portion 34 is an upwardly directed conical member 66adapted to unfold said arm members 38. Thus, the downward movement ofthe spindle member 2l causes the three arm members 38 to be unfolded andprojected through the window portions 33 until they lock the bobbin 30,as shown in FIG. 10. The upward movement of the spindle member 21 causesthe unfolded arm members 38 to be folded and retracted as they arerubbed against the window portions, as shown in FIG. 9.

Whiles there have been described herein what are at present consideredpreferred embodiments of the several features of the invention, it willbe obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications and changesmay be made without departing from the essence of the invention.

It is therefore to be understood that the exemplary embodiments thereofare illustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope ofwhich is defined in the appended claims and that all mofifications thatcome within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims areintended to be included therein.

I claim:

I. A bobbin hanger for mounting on a hanger rail comprising an uppermember having opposed ends and means at one end for fixedly mountingsame to a hanger rail for universal movement relative thereto, anintermediate member having means for operatively mounting same at oneend to the other end of said upper member for universal movementrelative thereto and a lower member having means for operativelyconnecting same at one end to the other end of said intermediate memberfor vertical movement relative thereto. said lower member includinglaterally movable locking means at the lower end thereof for engagementwith the internal shoulder portion of a bobbin and verticallyrcciprocable actuating means for actuating said locking means to projector retract same laterally for engagement or disengagement with theshoulder portion of the bobbin.

2. A bobbin hanger in accordance with claim 1, wherein said lockingmeans will engage the internal shoulder portion of the bobbin at aplurality of circumfercntially spaced points thercaround.

3. A bobbin hanger in accordance with claim 1, wherein said lockingmeans are spherical members rotatably mounted in openingscircumferentially spaced in the lower end of said lower member, saidopenings being ofa size just less than the diameter of said sphericalmembers.

4. A bobbin hanger in accordance with claim 1, wherein annular means isconnected between said upper and lower members to surround saidintermediate member and serves as a brake to prevent excessive rotationof said lower member.

5. A bobbin hanger in accordance with claim 1, wherein said lower memberincludes a thrust bearing in the connection between the intermediatemember and the lower member.

6. A bobbin hanger in accordance with claim 1, wherein the lower membercomprises a base portion having a cylindrical guide member provided withconical openings in the lower end thereof. a movable portion mounted insaid member for vertically reciprocable movement therein, said movableportion having a conical surface conforming to the conical surface ofsaid guide member. and spherical locking members positioned in theconical openings in the lower end and movable laterally outwardly uponthe downward movement of said movable portion.

7. A bobbin changer in accordance with claim 1, wherein said uppermember includes first bolt means having one end adapted to be connectedto the rail in a fixed state and the other end thereof providing anenlarged semi-circular head portion, an upper element connected to andsuspended from the enlarged head portion of said first bolt means foruniversal movement relative thereto, said upper means having an enlargedrecess opening in its bottom end, second bolt means having an enlargedsemi-circular head portion at one end seated in said recess opening ofsaid upper means of said'upper member for universal movement relativethereto, with the opposite end of said second bolt means having anenlarged head portion, said intermediate member including a recessportion in the upper end thereof in engagement with the enlarged head ofsaid second bolt means for universal movement relative thereto.

1. A bobbin hanger for mounting on a hanger rail comprising an uppermember having opposed ends and means at one end for fixedly mountingsame to a hanger rail for universal movement relative thereto, anintermediate member having means for operatively mounting same at oneend to the other end of said upper member for universal movementrelative thereto and a lower member having means for operativelyconnecting same at one end to the other end of said intermediate memberfor vertical movement relative thereto, said lower member includinglaterally movable locking means at the lower end thereof for engagementwith the internal shoulder portion of a bobbin and verticallyreciprocable actuating means for actuating said locking means to projector retract same laterally for engagement or disengagement with theshoulder portion of the bobbin.
 2. A bobbin hanger in accordance withclaim 1, wherein said locking means will engage the internal shoulderportion of the bobbin at a plurality of circumfErentially spaced pointstherearound.
 3. A bobbin hanger in accordance with claim 1, wherein saidlocking means are spherical members rotatably mounted in openingscircumferentially spaced in the lower end of said lower member, saidopenings being of a size just less than the diameter of said sphericalmembers.
 4. A bobbin hanger in accordance with claim 1, wherein annularmeans is connected between said upper and lower members to surround saidintermediate member and serves as a brake to prevent excessive rotationof said lower member.
 5. A bobbin hanger in accordance with claim 1,wherein said lower member includes a thrust bearing in the connectionbetween the intermediate member and the lower member.
 6. A bobbin hangerin accordance with claim 1, wherein the lower member comprises a baseportion having a cylindrical guide member provided with conical openingsin the lower end thereof, a movable portion mounted in said member forvertically reciprocable movement therein, said movable portion having aconical surface conforming to the conical surface of said guide member,and spherical locking members positioned in the conical openings in thelower end and movable laterally outwardly upon the downward movement ofsaid movable portion.
 7. A bobbin changer in accordance with claim 1,wherein said upper member includes first bolt means having one endadapted to be connected to the rail in a fixed state and the other endthereof providing an enlarged semi-circular head portion, an upperelement connected to and suspended from the enlarged head portion ofsaid first bolt means for universal movement relative thereto, saidupper means having an enlarged recess opening in its bottom end, secondbolt means having an enlarged semi-circular head portion at one endseated in said recess opening of said upper means of said upper memberfor universal movement relative thereto, with the opposite end of saidsecond bolt means having an enlarged head portion, said intermediatemember including a recess portion in the upper end thereof in engagementwith the enlarged head of said second bolt means for universal movementrelative thereto.